Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter is an African-American rights activism organization founded in 2013 in response to United States police officers killing unarmed African-Americans, in some cases killing innocent people. The organization was founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, prominent NAACP members, but it has no formal hierarchy, as it originated as a Twitter hashtag and became an online movement. While the group has positive influences from the Civil Rights movement, LGBT rights, and Occupy Wall Street, it is also influenced by Black Power, black feminism, and hip-hop, and the group's protests were violent at times. The riots in Ferguson were destructive, and the movement was responsible for defacing graves of Confederate States Army soldiers in the South, leading to some considering them to be terrorists or unruly thugs.